A table listing the average radius of orbit for the nine planets about the sun; expressed in astronomical units. Data can be used to calculate the orbital speed or the orbital period.

A university-level course that looks at the structure of the solar system, the sun, the planets, and other bodies in space. Includes course readings, assignments, and study notes.

An introduction to our solar system: the planets, our Sun and our Moon. Students begin by learning the history and engineering of space travel. They make simple rockets to acquire a basic understanding Newton's third law of motion. They...

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Looks at the size and shape of planet orbits.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Examines the eight planets of our solar system, their orbits, and rotation.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Examines the eight planets of our solar system and their orbits and rotation.

A video and a short multiple-choice quiz on how the Earth's tilt on its axis, its rotation, and its orbit around the Sun give us a 24-hour day, a 365-day year, and our seasons.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This informational text passage shares facts about planets in the solar system. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes...

This resource provides information related to all known bodies in orbit around the sun. Content includes planetary orbits, JPL's Horizon System, natural satellite information, and more.

Students must calculate the period of a satellite moving around one of the bodies in our solar system.

Launch into space with Orbital Order! Amplify your knowledge of the Sun and the planets of our Solar System in this astronomical activity. Do you have what it takes to put the planets back in order?

Our solar system is filled with a wide assortment of celestial bodies - the Sun itself, our eight planets, dwarf planets, and asteroids - and on Earth, life itself! The inner solar system is occasionally visited by comets that loop in...

This Java applet creates a model of a solar system with user-defined data. Users can create a solar system with up to four planets, choosing the star type at the center of the solar system, planet name, size, eccentricity of orbit and...

"Learning about the Solar System" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about scientists and learning about our solar system and how it works. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide...

"Learning about the Solar System" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the Milky Way gallaxy and what it takes to be a scientist. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence...

"Learning about the Solar System" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the Milky Way gallaxy and how scientists learn about it over time. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story;...

Students will use a simulation to build their own solar system discovering the relationship between gravity and motion that keeps a planet in orbit.

This site from the Illinois Institute of Technology provides a set of directions for the creation of a solar system model out of paper mache. Includes orbital distances and planet diameters for the nine planets. Great idea for a student...

This site provides a detailed overview of the TRACE (Transition Region and Coronal Explorer) satellite mission, data received, details about the instrumentation, and how to interpret the data.

A detailed description of comets, their distinct parts, and the known comets in our solar system. Links are also provided for additional information on related subjects.

Why do some regions experience full-time heat while others are reckoning with frigid temperatures and snow? And why are the seasons reversed in the two hemispheres? Rebecca Kaplan explains how the shape of the Earth's orbit around the...

Site provides extensive information in the study of comets. Includes excellent graphics that depict what comets look like as they travel through the solar system. Also includes information on how comets may have effected the Earth's...

Eight hands-on lessons module in which students explore the characteristics of planet Earth, its moons, the sun, the solar system, planets, and the difference between science fact and science fiction.

Help Sarah Jane and her team put the solar system's planets back in order. Following the activity, read more about the sun, the Earth, and its moon, and then take a quick quiz to check for understanding.